Physics Grade 8
Light – Reflection, Refraction,
Refractive index and Dispersion of
white light
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
▪ Describe the formation of an optical image by a plane
mirror, and give its characteristics.
▪ State the laws of reflection of light
▪ Describe an experimental demonstration of the
refraction of light.
▪ Explain the terminology for the angle of incidence i
and angle of refraction r and describe the passage
of light through parallel-sided transparent material
and through a glass prism.
▪ Define Dispersion of white light.
▪ Define refractive index ‘n’.
▪ • Recall and use the equation sin i/ sin r = n
▪ • Recall and use n = 1 / sin c
Reflection in a Plane Mirror
Normal
Incident ray Reflected
Angle of Angle of
ray
incidence reflection
REMINDER: always use a
ruler to draw light rays
(light travels in straight
lines) and don’t forget to
include arrows showing
direction of light.
Plane
mirror
Reflection in a Plane Mirror
Normal
Incident ray Reflected
Angle of Angle of
ray
incidence reflection
Plane
mirror
Laws of reflection:
1. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
2. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in
the same plane (i.e. the two rays and the normal can all be
drawn on a single sheet of flat paper).
Where is the image in a Plane Mirror?
Dotted lines show the
construction of the
virtual image)
The image in the mirror
looks the same as the
object, but it is laterally The image formed is
inverted (back to front). upright, but it is a
virtual image
(doesn’t really exist).
Where is the image in a Plane Mirror?
Normal view from the Same view as seen in the
front. rear view mirror of a car.
The word AMBULANCE is laterally inverted so that
it reads correctly when seen in a driving mirror.
Refraction
Refraction is the bending of light
when it travels from one medium
to another.
A ‘medium’ is glass, or air, or
water
Refraction
Light passing through a
glass block at right angles
to the surface will not be
refracted. The rays will
pass straight through.
Air
Glass
block
Refraction of light through a
rectangular glass block
Angle of
incidence Incident
Air light ray
When passing from
a less dense medium
Glass (air) to a more
block dense medium
(glass) light bends
towards the normal.
Refracted
light ray Angle of
refraction
Normal
line
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Angle of
incidence Incident
Air light ray
Glass
block
Refracted
light ray Angle of
refraction
The ray emerges from
the block parallel to Normal
its original direction. line
Refraction
So why is
light
refracted?
Air
Glass Light is
made up of
block many tiny
When light beams pass
waves
from air into glass one
side is slowed before the
other. This causes the
light beam to ‘bend’
Rules of refraction
What happens as a ray of light enters a glass block?
It bends towards the normal.
Why?
Because the speed of light changes
Real and Apparent Depth
What is the
‘refractive index’?
Refractive
Medium
index (n)
The refractive index
Vacuum 1.0000
of a medium (glass,
water) is defined as Air 1.0003
the speed of light in Water 1.3333
a vacuum divided by Glass 1.5200
the speed of light in Diamond 2.4170
the medium. Perspex 1.4900
Refractive index (n) = Speed of light in a vacuum (c)
Speed of light in medium (v)
Refractive index(n)
formulae
n=c/v
n = Sin i / Sin r
n = 1 / Sin C
Where ‘n’ is the refractive index, ‘c’ is
the speed of light in vacuum, ‘v’ is the
velocity of light in any medium, ‘i’ is the
angle of incidence, ‘r’ is the angle of
refraction and ‘C’ is the critical angle.
Refraction of white light
through a glass prism
This effect is called dispersion
of white light
It is the splitting of white light
into its component colours
Dispersion
This effect is called dispersion
It happens because different colours
have different wave lengths, travel at
different speeds and bend at
different angles through a glass prism.
